September 6–November 20, 2005 at the Getty Center

The Dutch economy boomed in the 17th century, creating a class of rich merchants who eagerly collected art. Many artists in Holland not only created vast numbers of paintings, but also began to make drawings as finished works for sale.

This exhibition examines the market for paper art and explores the techniques, subject matter, and style of these finished drawings. They provide a lively portrait of Dutch life at home and abroad, including seasonal scenes, flora and fauna, landscapes and cityscapes, and burghers and peasants.

Scenes of Everyday Life

Scenes of peasants and townspeople going about their daily lives enjoyed great popularity in the 17th century.

The scene of a peasant festival at the top of the page shows the picturesque charm, jewel tones, and fine details that made the drawings of Adriaen van Ostade popular with collectors. This watercolor is one of dozens van Ostade made in the 1670s.

As Holland declined as a world power in the 18th century, a combination of nationalism and nostalgia led Dutch artists to continue making the genre scenes popular in the 17th century.

This meticulous watercolor from the late 1700s portrays a mill bathed in warm summer sunlight. The scene brims with the activities of the season: a shepherd herds his flock, a family tends the mill, men harvest wheat, women converse, and a young boy daydreams.

The artist, Hendrik Meyer, was inspired by the work of van Ostade and other 17th-century artists.

Jan van Goyen specialized in landscapes and charming town views, such as this scene of people gathering around a huckster's tent. This drawing shows his lively shorthand style combining wash and squiggly chalk lines.

Like many Dutch artists of his day, van Goyen was a market-savvy entrepreneur. He produced hundreds of drawings a year and supplemented his income by speculating in real estate and tulip bulbs.

View of Civitavecchia with the Harbor Wall, Pieter Moninckx, about 1660Recent Acquisition

Small pen-and-ink portraits became popular in the 1600s—they were quicker to make and less expensive to buy than traditional painted portraits.

David Bailly drew professors, students, and notables in the town of Leiden, the seat of Holland's oldest university. He drew the hair, lace, and shading around this unknown woman's face with meticulous detail.